Defense lawyers chipped away at former Enron Treasurer Ben Glisan Jr.'s testimony in the Ken Lay/Jeff Skilling trial yesterday, accusing him of exaggerating his stories so that he could have an easier time in prison. Glisan is serving a five-year sentence for securities fraud and wire fraud; he started in a low-security prison in Bastrop but was transferred to an unfenced prison camp near Beaumont after he cooperated with government prosecutors in an earlier Enron-related case.
Skilling lawyer Daniel Petrocelli hammered Glisan during cross-examination yesterday about his time in prison, suggesting that he lied to the government to make his stay in prison better and to shorten his sentence. Under questioning about his prison stay, Glisan said he spent his first 10 or 11 days in solitary confinement, which surprised him:
"It was bad," Glisan said."Is that what you had in mind when you (agreed to plead guilty)?" Skilling's lawyer asked.
"It was a shock," he said.
Glisan was then assigned to an 8-by-12 cell with two roommates in a Bastrop low-security facility, still not the minimum security he'd expected.
Petrocelli tried to get Glisan to admit to fabricating testimony against ex-Enron Chairman Lay and ex-CEO Skilling, much of which involved the two executives having direct knowledge of schemes to lie to investors, analysts and employees about Enron's failing corporate health. "You lied all day yesterday, didn't you?" Petrocelli asked. "No, I did not," Glisan said, reminding the lawyer that he could lengthen his prison term by lying on the witness stand.
That's been a common theme for Lay and Skilling's lawyers, who tried to get the case dismissed earlier because they said prosecutors were coaching their witnesses. Judge Sim Lake said there was no evidence of misconduct and told the defense team not to mention it in front of the jury.
Unfortunately, Glisan gave a bit on something he said Wednesday about Lay's reaction to the Raptor financial structures, which facilitated Enron's creative accounting that reportedly let the company hide losses and misreport earnings. Glisan testified Wednesday that lay "giggled ... with delight" when he learned about the scheme, but one of Lay's lawyers challenged that yesterday, saying Lay isn't the giggling kind:
"I've gotten to know Mr. Lay pretty well," said Lay lawyer Bruce Collins. "He may chuckle; he doesn't giggle."Glisan smiled, and slightly nodding his head said, "I will concede chuckle."
Well, that's no fun.
Collins will continue questioning Glisan on Monday, then the prosecution will call its final witnesses and may rest at the end of next week.
add to digg
add to stumble upon
add to reddit